“Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in
Jesus Christ, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and
peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What is
the reason of his writing this second Epistle to Timothy? He had said,
“I hope to come unto thee shortly” (1 Tim. iii.
14.),
and as this had not taken place, instead of coming to him, he consoles
him by a letter, when he was grieving perhaps for his absence, and
oppressed by the cares of the government, which he had now taken in
hand. For even great men, when they are placed at the helm, and are
charged with the direction of the Church, feel the strangeness of their
position, and are overwhelmed, as it were, by the waves of business.
This was particularly the case when the Gospel was first preached, when
the ground was everywhere unturned, and all was opposition and
hostility. There were, besides, heresies commencing from the Jewish
teachers, as he has shown in his former Epistle. Nor does he only
comfort him by letters, he invites him to come to him: “Do thy
diligence,” he says, “to come shortly unto me,” and,
“when thou comest, bring with thee the books, but especially the
parchments.” (2 Tim. iv. 9,
13.)
And he seems to have written this Epistle when his end was approaching.
For he says, “I am now ready to be offered up”; and again,
“At my first answer no man stood with me.” (2 Tim. iv. 6,
16.)
To set all this right, he both offers consolation from his own trials,
and also says,

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in
Christ Jesus.”

Thus at the very commencement he
raises up his mind. Tell me not, he says, of the dangers here. These
obtain for us eternal life, where there is no peril, where grief and
mourning flee away. For He hath not made us Apostles only that we might
encounter dangers, but that we might even suffer and die.13141314 If
the reading is correct, πάσχωμεν must be emphatic, meaning “actually” suffer, for
it is harsh to render it of the good things to come. And as it would not be a consolation to
recount to him his own troubles, but rather an increase of his grief,
he begins immediately with offering comfort, saying, “According
to the promise of life which is in Jesus Christ.” But if it is a
“promise,” seek it not here. For, “hope that is seen
is not hope.” (Rom. viii. 24.)

Not merely his
“son,” but, “dearly beloved”; since it is
possible for sons not to be beloved. 476Not such, he means, art thou;
I call thee not merely a son, but a “dearly beloved son.”
As he calls the Galatians his children, but at the same time complains
of them; “My little children,” he says, “of whom I
travail in birth again.” (Gal. iv. 19.) And he bears
particular testimony to his virtue by calling him
“beloved.” For where love does not arise from nature, it
must arise from the merit of the object. Those who are born of us, are
loved not only on account of their virtue, but from the force of
nature; but when those who are of the faith are beloved, it is on
account of nothing but their merit, for what else can it be? And this
especially in the case of Paul, who never acted from partiality. And
further, he shows by calling him his “beloved son,” that it
was not because he was offended with him, or despised him, or condemned
him; that he did not come to him.

These things which he before
prayed for, he again invokes upon him. And observe how, at the very
beginning, he excuses himself for not having come to him, nor seen him.
For his words, “Till I come,” and, “Hoping to come to
thee shortly,” had led Timothy to expect his coming soon. For
this he excuses himself, but he does not immediately mention the cause
of his not coming, lest he should grieve him mightily. For he was
detained in prison by the emperor. But when at the end of the Epistle
he invited him to come to him, then he informed him of it. He does not
at the outset plunge him into sorrow, but encourages the hope that he
shall see him. “Greatly desiring to see thee,” and
“Do thy diligence to come unto me shortly.” (2 Tim. i. 4, and iv.
9.)
Immediately therefore he raises him up, and proceeds to praise
him.

Ver. 3, 4. “I thank
God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that
without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I might
be filled with joy.”

“‘I thank
God,’ he says, ‘that I remember thee,’ so much do I
love thee.” This is a mark of excessive love, when a man glories
in his affection from loving so much. “I thank God,” he
says, “Whom I serve”: and how? “With a pure
conscience,” for he had not violated his conscience. And here he
speaks of his blameless life, for he everywhere calls his life his
conscience. Or because I never gave up any good that I purposed, for
any human cause, not even when I was a persecutor. Wherefore he says,
“I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”
(1
Tim. i. 13.); all but saying, “Do not suspect that it was done of
wickedness.” He properly commends his own disposition, that his
love may appear sincere. For what he says is in fact, “I am not
false, I do not think one thing and profess another.” So in the
book of Acts we read he was compelled to praise himself. For when they
slandered him as a seditious man and an innovator, he said in his own
defense, “Ananias said to me, The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and
shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness
unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.” (Acts xxii. 14,
15.)
In the same manner here, that he may not, as if he had been forgetful,
have the character of one void of friendship and conscience, he justly
praises himself, saying, that “without ceasing I have remembrance
of thee,” and not simply that, but “in my prayers.”
That is, it is the business of my prayers, that which I constantly
continue to perform. For this he shows by saying, “For this I
besought God day and night, desiring to see thee.” Mark his
fervent desire, the intensity13151315 μανίαν.
Lit. “madness.” of his love. And
again, his humility, how he apologizes to his disciples, and then he
shows that it was not on light or vain grounds; and this he had shown
us before, but again gives proof of it. “Being mindful of thy
tears.” It was natural for Timothy, when parting from him,13161316 The present tense implies that it was at the time of parting. Mr.
Greswell supposes that St. Paul had been recently apprehended in the
presence of Timothy; see his work on the Harmony of the Gospels, Vol.
2, Diss. 1, pp. 97, 98. to mourn and weep, more than a child torn
away from the milk and from the breast of its mother. “That I may
be filled with joy; greatly desiring to see thee.” I would not
willingly have deprived myself of so great a pleasure, though I had
been of an unfeeling and brutal nature, for those tears coming to my
remembrance would have been enough to soften me. But such is not my
character. I am one of those who serve God purely; so that many strong
motives urged me to come to thee. So then he wept. And he mentions
another cause, and that of a consolatory kind.

Ver. 5. “When I call to
remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee.”

This is another commendation,
that Timothy came not of Gentiles, nor of unbelievers, but of a family
that served Christ from the first. (Acts xvi. 1,
3.)

“Which dwelt first in thy
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice.”

For Timothy, it says, “was
the son of a certain woman which was a Jewess, and believed.” How
a Jewess? how believing? Because she was not of the Gentiles,
“but on account of his father, who was a Greek, and of the Jews
that 477were
in those quarters, he took and circumcised him.” Thus, as these
mixtures of Jews and Gentiles took place, the Law began gradually to be
dissolved. And mark in how many ways he shows that he did not despise
him. “I serve God,” he says, “I have a true
conscience” for my part, and thou hast thy “tears,”
and not thy tears only, but for “thy faith,” because thou
art a laborer for the Truth, because there is no deceit in thee. As
therefore thou showest thyself worthy of love, being so affectionate,
so genuine a disciple of Christ; and as I am not one of those who are
devoid of affection, but of those who earnestly pursue the Truth; what
hindered me from coming to thee?

“And I am persuaded that
in thee also.”

From the beginning, he means,
thou hast had this excellency. Thou receivedst from thy forefathers the
faith unfeigned. For the praises of our ancestors, when we share in
them, redound also to us. Otherwise they avail nothing, but rather
condemn us; wherefore he has said, “I am persuaded that in thee
also.” It is not a conjecture, he means, it is my persuasion; I
am fully assured of it. If therefore from no human motive thou hast
embraced it, nothing will be able to shake thy faith.

Ver. 6. “Wherefore I put
thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands.”

You see how greatly dispirited
and dejected he considers him to be. He almost says, “Think not
that I despise thee, but be assured that I do not condemn thee, nor
have I forgotten thee. Consider, at any rate, thy mother and thy
grandmother. It is because I know that thou hast unfeigned faith that I
put thee in remembrance.” For it requires much zeal to stir up
the gift of God. As fire requires fuel, so grace requires our alacrity,
that it may be ever fervent. “I put thee in remembrance that thou
stir up the gift of God, that is in thee by the putting on of my
hands,” that is, the grace of the Spirit, which thou hast
received, for presiding over the Church, for the working of miracles,
and for every service. For this grace it is in our power to kindle or
to extinguish; wherefore he elsewhere says, “Quench not the
Spirit.” (1 Thess. v. 19.) For by sloth and
carelessness it is quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is
kept alive. For it is in thee indeed, but do thou render it more
vehement, that is, fill it with confidence, with joy and delight. Stand
manfully.

Ver. 7. “For God hath
not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind.”

That is, we did not receive the
Spirit, that we should shrink from exertion, but that we may speak with
boldness. For to many He gives a spirit of fear, as we read in the wars
of the Kings. “A spirit of fear fell upon them.”
(Ex.
xv. 16?) That is, he infused terror into them. But to thee He has given,
on the contrary, a spirit of power, and of love toward Himself. This,
then, is of grace, and yet not merely of grace, but when we have first
performed our own parts. For the Spirit that maketh us cry,
“Abba, Father,” inspires us with love both towards Him, and
towards our neighbor, that we may love one another. For love arises
from power, and from not fearing. For nothing is so apt to dissolve
love as fear, and a suspicion of treachery.

“For God hath not given us
the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound
mind”:13171317 σωφρονισμοῦ. he calls a healthy state of the
soul a sound mind, or it may mean sobriety of mind, or else a sobering
of the mind, that we may be sober-minded, and that if any evil befall
us, it may sober us, and cut off superfluities.

Moral. Let us then not be distressed at the evils that happen to us. This
is sobriety of mind. “In the season of temptation,” he
says, “make not haste.” (Ecclus. ii. 2.) Many have their
several griefs at home, and we share in each other’s sorrows,
though not in their sources. For one is unhappy on account of his wife,
another on account of his child, or his domestic, another of his
friend, another of his enemy, another of his neighbor, another from
some loss. And various are the causes of sorrow, so that we can find no
one free from trouble and unhappiness of some kind or other, but some
have greater sorrows and some less. Let us not therefore be impatient,
nor think ourselves only to be unhappy.

For there is no such thing in
this mortal life as being exempt from sorrow. If not to-day, yet
to-morrow; if not to-morrow, yet some later day trouble comes. For as
one cannot sail, I mean, over a long sea, and not feel disquietude, so
it is not possible to pass through this life, without experience of
sorrow, yea though you name a rich man; for in that he is rich, he hath
many occasions of inordinate desires,13181318 B. and Sav. Mar. ἀθυμιῶν, “of dejections.” Edd. ἐπιθυμιῶν. yea, though the king himself, since he
too is ruled by many, and cannot do all that he would. Many favors he
grants contrary to his wishes, and more than all men is obliged to do
what he would not. How so? Because he has many about him who wish to
receive his gifts. And just think how13191319 Sav. Tr. “and how great.”
great is his chagrin, when he is desirous to effect something, but is
unable, either from fear or suspicion, or hindered by enemies or by
friends. Often when he has succeeded in achieving some end, he loses
all the pleasure of it, from many becoming at enmity 478with him. Again, do you
think that they are free from grief, who live a life of ease? It is
impossible. As a man cannot escape death, so neither can he escape
sorrow. How many troubles must they endure, which we cannot express in
words, and which they only can know by experience! How many have prayed
a thousand times to die, in the midst of their wealth and luxury! For
luxury by no means puts men out of the reach of grief: it is rather the
very thing to produce sorrows, diseases, and uneasiness, often when
there is no real ground for it. For when such is the habit of the soul,
it is apt to grieve even without a cause. Physicians say that from a
weak state of the stomach arise sorrows13201320 Or,
“pains.”
without any occasion; and does not the like happen to ourselves, to
feel uneasy, without knowing any cause for it? In short, we can find no
one who is exempted from sorrow. And if he has less occasion for grief
than ourselves, yet he thinks otherwise, for he feels his own sorrows,
more than those of other men. As they who suffer pain in any part of
their bodies, think that their sufferings exceed their
neighbor’s. He that has a disease of the eye, thinks there is
nothing so painful, and he that has a disorder in the stomach,
considers that the sorest of diseases, and each thinks that the
heaviest of sufferings, with which he is himself afflicted. So it is
with sorrow, each thinks his own present grief the most severe. For of
this he judges by his own experience. He that is childless considers
nothing so sad as to be without children; he that is poor, and has many
children, complains of the extreme evils of a large family. He who has
but one, looks upon this as the greatest misery, because that one,
being set too much store by, and never corrected, becomes willful, and
brings grief upon his father. He who has a beautiful wife, thinks
nothing so bad as having a beautiful wife, because it is the occasion
of jealousy and intrigue. He who has an ugly one, thinks nothing worse
than having a plain wife, because it is constantly disagreeable. The
private man thinks nothing more mean, more useless, than his mode of
life. The soldier declares that nothing is more toilsome, more
perilous, than warfare; that it would he better to live on bread and
water than endure such hardships. He that is in power thinks there can
be no greater burden than to attend to the necessities of others. He
that is subject to that power, thinks nothing more servile than living
at the beck of others. The married man considers nothing worse than a
wife, and the cares of marriage. The unmarried declares there is
nothing so wretched as being unmarried, and wanting the repose of a
home. The merchant thinks the husbandman happy in his security. The
husbandman thinks the merchant so in his wealth. In short, all mankind
are somehow hard to please, and discontented and impatient. When
condemning the whole race, he saith, “Man is a thing of
nought” (Ps. cxliv. 4.), implying that the
whole kind is a wretched unhappy creature. How many long for old age!
How many think youth a happy time! Thus each different period has its
unhappiness. When we find ourselves censured on account of our youth,
we say, why are we not old? and when our heads are hoary, we ask
whither has our youth flown? Numberless, in short, are the occasions of
sorrow. There is one path only by which this unevenness can be escaped.
It is the path of virtue. Yet that too has its sorrows, only they are
sorrows not unprofitable, but productive of gain and advantage. For if
any one has sinned, he washes away his sin by the compunction that
comes of his sorrow. Or, if he has grieved in sympathizing with a
fallen brother, this is not without its recompense. For sympathy with
those that are in misery gives us great confidence towards
God.

Hear therefore what philosophy
is taught by the example of Job in holy Scripture! Hear also what Paul
saith: “Weep with them that weep”; and again,
“Condescend to men of low estate.” (Rom. xii. 15,
16.)
For, by the communication of sorrow, the extreme burden of it is
lightened. For as in the case of a heavy load, he that bears part of
the weight relieves him who was bearing it alone, so it is in all other
things.

But now, when any one of our
relatives dies, there are many who sit by and console us. Nay, we often
raise up even an ass that has fallen; but when the souls of our
brethren are falling, we overlook them and pass by, as if they were of
less value than an ass. And if we see any one entering into a tavern
indecently; nay, if we see him drunk, or guilty of any other unseemly
action, we do not restrain him, we rather join him in it. Whence Paul
has said: “They not only do these things, but have pleasure in
them that do them.” (Rom. i. 32.) The greater
part even form associations13211321 συμμορίας. See on Stat. Hom. xi. fin. See also St.
Chrysostom’s advice to Clubs, on Rom. xiii. 14, Hom. xxiv.
14. for the purposes
of drunkenness. But do thou, O man, form associations to restrain the
madness of inebriety. Such friendly doings are beneficial to those who
are in bonds or in affliction. Something of this kind Paul enjoined to
the Corinthians, alluding to which he says, “That there be no
gatherings when I come.” (1 Cor. xvi. 2.) But now
everything is done with a view to luxury, reveling, and pleasure. We
have a common seat, a common table, we have wine in common, and
com479mon
expenses, but we have no community of alms. Such were the friendly
doings in the time of the Apostles; they brought all their goods into
the common stock. Now I do not require you to bestow all, but some
part. “Let each lay by him in store on the first day of the week,
as God has prospered him,” and lay it down as a tribute for the
seven days. In this way give alms, whether more or less. “For
thou shalt not appear before the Lord empty.” (Ex. xxiii.
15.)
This was said to the Jews, how much more then to us. For this cause the
poor stand before the doors, that no one may enter empty, but each may
do alms at his entrance. Thou enterest to implore mercy. First show
mercy. He that comes later owes the more. For when we have been first,
he that is second pays down more.13221322 He means in human transactions, where money advanced always
has a certain value beyond a deferred payment. Make God
thy debtor, and then offer thy prayers. Lend to Him, and then ask a
return, and thou shalt receive it with usury. God wills this, and does
not retract. If thou ask with alms, He holds himself obliged. If thou
ask with alms, thou lendest and receivest interest. Yes, I beseech you!
It is not for stretching out thy hands thou shalt be heard! stretch
forth thy hands, not to heaven, but to the poor. If thou stretch forth
thy hand to the hands of the poor, thou hast reached the very summit of
heaven. For He who sits there receives thine alms. But if thou liftest
them up without a gift, thou gainest nothing. If the king, arrayed in
purple, should come to thee and ask an alms, wouldest thou not readily
give all that thou hast? But now when thou art entreated through the
poor, not by an earthly but a heavenly King, dost thou stand
regardless, and defer thy gift? What punishment then dost thou not
deserve? For the being heard depends not upon the lifting up of thy
hands, nor on the multitude of thy words, but upon thy works. For hear
the prophet, “When ye” spread “forth your hands, I
will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will
not hear.” (Isa. i. 15.) For he ought to be
silent, who needs mercy, and not even to look up to heaven; he that
hath confidence may say13231323 Gr. “says,” but he means “with propriety,”
for παρρησίαν
ἔχων is the usual
expression for one who has real claims. B. reads ὁδὲ ὡς
παρ., “but this man, as if
he had claims.” much. But what
says the Scripture, “Judge for the fatherless, plead for the
widow, learn to do good.” (Isa. i. 17.) In this way we
shall be heard, though we lift not up our hands, nor utter a word, nor
make request. In these things then let us be zealous, that we may
obtain the promised blessings, through the grace and lovingkindness,
&c.

1314 If
the reading is correct, πάσχωμεν must be emphatic, meaning “actually” suffer, for
it is harsh to render it of the good things to come.

1316 The present tense implies that it was at the time of parting. Mr.
Greswell supposes that St. Paul had been recently apprehended in the
presence of Timothy; see his work on the Harmony of the Gospels, Vol.
2, Diss. 1, pp. 97, 98.